Export promotional allowance: authorised dealers may permit limited free exports subject to RBI referral and recordkeeping requirements.
Authorised Dealers may permit export of goods free of cost for export promotion by granting GR waivers to recognised exporters up to two per cent of the exporter's average annual exports during the preceding three years, subject to a ceiling of Rs.5 lakhs; non conforming applications should be referred to Reserve Bank regional offices. Authorised dealers must maintain records of permissions and notify constituents. Directions are issued under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999.

Rounding of financial statements clarified to apply to profit and loss accounts to ensure consistent presentation across statements.
The circular clarifies that the notification permitting rounding of balance sheet figures to prescribed denominations also applies by implication to the profit and loss account prepared under Schedule VI, so that both statements use the same simplified rounding procedure and present consistent figures to readers.

Export of services exemption continues; secondary services merged with exported services are not separately taxable under service tax rules.
Service tax is a destination-based consumption tax and export of services remains tax-free despite withdrawal of the earlier exemption; tax is leviable only on services consumed or rendered in India. No inter-sectoral credit is available for services used in manufacture of exported goods. Secondary services merged with exported services are not taxable, but if consumed for provision of services in India the secondary service provider is liable. Providers must maintain records to identify secondary services. Change in the service tax rate depends on the billing date relative to passage of the Finance Bill.

Rounding off figures permitted for balance sheets extends to profit and loss accounts to ensure consistent financial presentation.
The circular clarifies that Notification No. G.S.R. 545(E) permitting rounding of figures in the balance sheet to specified denominations may, by implication, be applied to the profit and loss account as well, because both statements form the annual accounts under Schedule VI, and consistent application aids readers through uniform presentation.

Name change permission for companies follows amendment of objects to undertake insurance broking permitted by regulator.
The Registrar of Companies may permit change of name of existing companies when they amend their objects to undertake insurance brokers' business, in light of the insurance regulator's notification permitting private sector companies to carry on insurance brokerage; the permission is contingent on formal alteration of corporate objects and is a partial modification of earlier guidance.

Export fraud: forged supervision reports used to misdeclare coloured water as printing ink to obtain DEPB benefits via false exports.
Export transactions were manipulated to secure undue benefits under the DEPB scheme by falsely presenting coloured water as industrial printing ink and using forged documents purporting Central Excise supervision. Containers were held in local storage and later stuffed at peripheral yards with coloured water misdeclared as printing ink, and forged examination reports were used to substantiate export consignments and obtain shipping clearance.

Verification of supplementary DEPB scrips: re verification waived where original DEPB was Customs verified; full verification required otherwise.
Where the original DEPB scrip was duly verified by Customs when imports were cleared, re verification of the supplementary DEPB scrip need not be done; Customs shall cross check the supplementary scrip's references to the original DEPB and export consignments against records and verify genuineness before allowing import clearance. If the original DEPB was not verified, Customs must perform detailed verification of the supplementary scrip under the established verification procedure prior to permitting imports under the DEPB Scheme.

Exemption to services for SEZ-related providers requires committee authorisation and Development Commissioner approval and monitoring.
Service providers seeking exemption for services related to development, operation, maintenance or setting up of SEZ units must apply to the Development Commissioner with service and SEZ recipient details; the Development Commissioner processes the application, convenes a committee headed by the Chief Commissioner of Central Excise (with specified members) to examine and authorise the proposed services, and thereafter monitors the availment of the exemption.

Custodian infrastructure requirement: custodians must provide EDI-ready computerization and secure financial sanction before staff cost recovery posts are notified.
Custodians must provide adequate infrastructure for computerization and link with Customs EDI, with existing facilities given a transitional period to upgrade; financial sanction for creation of cost recovery posts must precede the Commissioner's notification of ICDs/CFSs, and authorities should issue Public Notices or Standing Orders to inform stakeholders and acknowledge receipt.

Administrative control of ICDs/CFSs now vests with territorial Commissioners of Customs or, where none, Commissioners of Central Excise.
Administrative control of ICDs/CFSs is vested in territorial Commissioners of Customs, and where an ICD/CFS lies outside any Customs commissioner's territory, control is assigned to the territorial Commissioner of Central Excise; specified ICDs are allocated to named Central Excise commissioners and affected parties must issue Public Notices/Standing Orders, report implementation difficulties to the Board, and acknowledge receipt.

Proper appeal filing standards ensure departmental appeals are complete and monitored to avoid dismissal on technical grounds.
Appeals have been dismissed for procedural defects; Commissioners must apply independent mind before authorising appeals and strictly comply with the CEGAT (Procedure) Rules, 1982, including Rule 16 on filing a complete paper book. Appeals must append all relied-upon material (show cause notices, statements, panchanama, invoices, test reports, internal correspondence and seized document extracts) so they are self-contained. Chief Commissioners and Commissioners must maintain control registers, monitor remanded matters, nominate senior officers to track appellate listings and ensure timely prosecution to avoid loss on technical grounds.

Storage of non-duty-paid goods outside factory: waiver of merchant overtime charges while commissioners may impose safeguards.
Storage of non-duty-paid excisable goods outside factory premises is permitted under Central Excise (No.2) Rules, 2001 with revenue safeguards, and waiver of merchant overtime charges is directed where physical supervision is not envisaged; the Jurisdictional Commissioner may nonetheless impose conditions necessary to safeguard revenue and prior instructions are thereby modified.

Central Excise registration simplification enables textile sector registration without strict PAN or immediate premises verification.
The Board introduces a simplified Central Excise registration for textile-sector entrants via a new Form-IA collecting only essential data; associations may submit applications to a special registration cell at Commissionerate headquarters. PAN-based formalities need not be strictly applied and premises verification may be deferred. Officers must facilitate trade, allow intermediate clearances without immediate penal action while registration is pending, and widely publicise and educate stakeholders on the new procedures.

Companies Acceptance of Deposits amendments circulated; recipients instructed to take action and acknowledge receipt promptly.
The Department of Company Affairs circulated three notifications: The Companies (Acceptance of Deposits) Amendment Rules, 2003, its Second Amendment, and the Disposal of Records (in the Offices of the Registrars of Companies) Rules, 2003, directing Regional Directors and Registrars of Companies to take necessary action under the amended provisions and to acknowledge receipt of the notifications.

COD referral requirements for PSU tax disputes: detailed annexure mandating tax impact, reasons, appellate history and legal grounds.
Prescribes an annexure to the revised COD referral proforma for PSU disputes requiring year wise tax effect, reasons for assessment additions, detailed 500 word grounds why the appealed order is legally incorrect, explanations where appellate authorities deleted additions, prior same authority orders with outcomes and CBDT file references, reliance on higher appellate decisions with their fate and departmental acceptance, and a field for other comments.

Company strike off notices: public publication and objection mechanism with ROC reporting for uncompleted strike-offs.
Annexure D requires the ROC to publish a public notice listing companies that have applied for striking off under the Simplified Exit Scheme and to invite written, substantiated objections within thirty days. Annexure E requires the ROC to report to the Department those applicants whose names could not be struck off, specifying reasons such as fee deficiencies, inadequate documentation, or objections from creditors, investors or the public.

Irregular service tax collection: amounts collected before the statutory effective date are recoverable and must be deposited.
Service providers collected service tax at the higher rate before the rate was statutorily effective; amounts collected before the effective date that were not deposited with the Government are recoverable, and field formations must examine returns to ensure excess collections are deposited into the exchequer in accordance with statutory deposit and recovery obligations.

Internet telephony classification: services characterised as online information and database access, attracting service tax liability.
Internet telephony, defined as two way voice communication transmitted via data over a computer network, is functionally classified as online information and database access and/or retrieval rather than as a telephone service; licensing under telegraphy statutes does not alter this classification. The Circular directs administrative dissemination, including informing field formations and issuing trade notices, to apply this classification for service tax purposes.

Margin and risk framework for exchange-traded interest rate derivatives established with transparent yield-curve computation and real-time margining.
SEBI prescribes a regulatory framework for exchange-traded interest rate futures on notional government bonds and treasury bills, requiring SEBI approval, public disclosure of notional bond features, and cash settlement. Final settlement must use a zero coupon yield curve computed by an objective, publicly disclosed algorithm with published input data and historical parameter series. A portfolio-based margining regime using an exponentially weighted volatility estimator, price-scan ranges and minimum margin floors is required, together with calendar-spread charges, exposure and position limits, real-time margining where feasible, and prescribed procedures for mark-to-market settlement, margin collection and stress response.

Director indemnity under Simplified Exit Scheme clarified; only zero asset companies qualify and magistrate sworn affidavits required.
Only companies with zero assets and zero liabilities qualify for the Simplified Exit Scheme; applications filed up to the scheme's last date will be processed. ROCs will publish applicant lists monthly and the Central Government will bear advertising costs; ROCs must notify IBA and financial institutions simultaneously. Applications require affidavits sworn before a magistrate, director signatures (minimum two), and an indemnity bond making directors personally responsible for subsequently discovered liabilities, subject to ordinary limitation laws.